February 2005 was a typical winter day in Hood River Oregon. A kind policeman on active duty got the call. It appeared as if a way ward Pit Bull had lost her way. Animal control for the city of Hood River was off duty for the week end. So, county officers are responsible for the call. Picking up an unknown Pit Bull is not a job many people envy. This officer had seen his fair share of not so nice Pit Bulls, so this phone call was a little disturbing. Seeing the massive black dog for the first time had to be a little chilling; but one look at this incredible girl and you could just see the goodness in her soul. She was running at large with other stray dogs. The officer loaded the black Pit Bull in his cruiser and headed for the shelter. For some reason he didn’t want to take the dog directly to the shelter; and for some strange reason this girl was like no other Pit Bull he had seen. This girl loved people her wiggle butt and kisses put the young man at ease and before you knew it the young dog was riding in a police car without a care in the world. When animal control came back to work on Monday she was informed that there had been a rather nice Pit Bull impounded over the weekend. The officer told her that the dog was too nice and that he really wanted the Pit Bull to find a home. He also said that the dog was so nice that she is the kind of Pit Bulls they should feature on the front page of the newspaper. And so, Paige got her name. We were then contacted by animal control; and Paige’s fate was sealed. We brought her into our rescue. (Thanks Casey!) We vetted her and placed her up for adoption. Winter turned to spring and spring to summer and Paige remained. We found her a boy friend or two. We took her hiking and swimming two things that we learned she loved to do. As leaves started falling from the trees and darkness started falling earlier Paige remained in our care. Other dogs came and went. We had what we thought was an ok home, but we passed. Hubby in the home thought our dear Paige look ‘ominous’ and when the wife informed me that she had changed her husbands mind and he decided that Paige would be ‘ok’; I said; “no.” No one is getting one of our kids that doesn’t want them from the get go. So, winter came on with a vengeance; snow fell and temperatures dropped. We went shopping for winter sweaters for all the Pit Bulls. We weatherized all of our pens, and we purchased many propane heaters. We did our best to make all of our dogs comfy; and we prepared for another long winter. Spring of 2006 brought an email from a man named Mikel. He was very interested in rescuing a Pit Bull. His last dog a darling small Am Staff had passed away. For 16 glorious years he and Francine had lived the good life. Then, one day she was gone, and Mikel was all alone. Reading our Petfinder page; Mikel was struck by many of our dogs. He wanted to know if he could come and ‘look?’ I said he sure could. So, on a nice spring afternoon Mikel and two friends came to our rescue. We showed him Doobie John, Tanner, and Paige. Mikel needed a Pit Bull that was not too dog aggressive; one that would love to hike and go places. These were our best kids; so it was up to Mikel to choose. Within an hour he had tentatively decided on Paige. Mikel left but told me he would contact me with a definite answer. Five days went by and I waited. He contacted me and told me that he definitely wanted Paige; when could he come and get her? So I contacted Christa my rescue partner in Hillsboro and she agreed to do the home inspection. The home inspection as many of you already know went very well. Mikel lives in a very nice Portland neighborhood. He lives in front of the Pittock Mansion. He owns a three story home right in front of trail lined woods. His floors are heated and he has a central vacuumed system. It wasn’t so much the wonderful home that impressed Christa, but it was also Mikel's wiliness to please us; and make sure that Paige will want for nothing. And so after more than a year our Paige has found her forever home. Paige starts night classes tonight. Her dad wishes to get her canine good citizen certificate as well. It is days like this when we get our ‘pay checks’ in rescue. When these wonderful dogs finally get their forever homes is when it all is worth it. We have found that it just takes time. Thanks to all of you who received this email; thanks to you one more Pit Bull got a wonderful, kind, and loving home.
by Kaye Smith
Small Time Dog Rescue, The Dalles, OR
Dead Dog Walking Pit Bull Rescue